


Meet the Walshes

by jooliewrites



Category: How to Get Away with Murder
Genre: Christmas, Christmas Fluff, Domestic Fluff, Established Relationship, Fluff, M/M, Meeting the Parents
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-29
Updated: 2016-02-29
Packaged: 2018-05-24 00:02:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,152
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6134553
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jooliewrites/pseuds/jooliewrites
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“Okay. We’re here.” Connor pulls the rental car over. “You ready?”</p>
<p>Oliver gives a noncommittal noise as he looks up at the house. It’s huge and brightly decorated and even in a car a dozen yards away Oliver can hear the Christmas music pouring out of the house. The long driveway is full to bursting but on top of that there are still a dozen or so cars parked on the street, filling up the road. </p>
<p>Connor’d warned him his family was big but Oliver hasn’t prepared for this. </p>
<p>“Ollie?” Oliver turns back to Connor. “You ready?”</p>
<p>“Yes.” Oliver nods and brushes a hand down a thigh, smoothing his pants. </p>
<p>Connor’s smile is fond. Oliver can be adorable when he’s nervous. “Really?”</p>
<p>+</p>
<p>Christmas/Meeting the Parents Fluff</p>
            </blockquote>





	Meet the Walshes

**Author's Note:**

> Anonymous said: i'd love for oliver to find out that connor told his sister about him at christmas, before they ever officially got together
> 
>  
> 
> [originally posted](http://ramblesandreblogs.tumblr.com/post/133773563858/id-love-for-oliver-to-find-out-that-connor-told)

“Okay. We’re here.” Connor pulls the rental car over and parks behind a beat-up Toyota hatchback. He puts the car in park but lets the engine idle a beat and turns expectantly to Oliver. “You ready?”

Oliver gives a noncommittal noise as he looks up at the house. It’s huge and brightly decorated and even in a car a dozen yards away Oliver can hear the Christmas music pouring out of the house. The long driveway is full to bursting but on top of that there are still a dozen or so cars parked on the street, filling up the road.

Connor’d warned him his family was big but Oliver hasn’t prepared for this.

“Ollie?” Oliver turns back to Connor. “You ready?”

“Yes.” Oliver nods and brushes a hand down a thigh, smoothing his pants.

Connor’s smile is fond. Oliver can be adorable when he’s nervous. “Really?”

Oliver hums in in agreement and fuses a little with the bow on the present in his lap. It’s his gift for the grab bag gift exchange. It’s an ornament and Oliver’s pretty sure he spent more on wrapping paper to make the little box look perfect than he did on the ornament itself.

“Oliver.” Connor reaches over and takes Oliver’s hand in his. “It’s going to be fine. They are going to love you.”

“You sure.” The look Oliver throws him is doubtful.

Connor squeezes Oliver’s hand in his. “They’re going to love you because I love you.”

Oliver rolls his eyes. “You are so lame.”

“I know but it made you smile.” Connor leans over and kisses Oliver all to briefly. “Now, come on. Let’s go.”

Connor holds Oliver’s hand as they walk up and gives him some last minute pointers. “Aunt Janice can’t hear out of her left ear so stick to her right-side.” “Avoid my Uncle Kevin and his sons at all costs. They’re assholes.” “Aunt Chris and Uncle Geoff both make desert and will try to trick you into saying whose you like better. It sounds like a game but it’s not. They take that shit seriously. Don’t engage.” “If we get separated just stick with Gemma or her husband. Don’t go off with any of my aunts alone.”

“What do you mean ‘if we get separated’?” Oliver asks as Connor rings the bell. “And what about your aunts?”

“It’s a big house. There are lots of people.” Connor leans over to check his reflection in a side window. “Plus, my aunts are going to try and corner you for the shakedown at some point.”

“What?” Oliver throws Connor a look. “Are you fucking with me?” This is just the kind of thing Connor would spring on him as a joke.

“I wish.” Connor winks at him but Oliver’s not amused so Connor just shrugs. “They do it with everyone. They think it’s funny.”

“It doesn’t sound funny.” Oliver shivers a little and Connor steps closer, turning a bit to block the wind.

“It is for them,” is all Connor has time to say before the door opens wide.

It’s one Connor’s aunts who opens it, bubbly and happy and cheerful. She pulls Oliver in with a wide smile and “You must be Oliver! Welcome!” and lets the door go, leaving Connor to pull it back open himself.

“Thanks a lot Aunt Margaret,” Connor teases as he enters. “Leave your flesh and blood out in the cold.”

“Oh, you’re fine.” Margaret dismisses Connor with a wave of her hand before gently scolding. “Alright. Off with your coats. Let’s go. Make yourselves at home. Here, I’ll take the presents.”

The presents and their coats actually get handed off to an Uncle Dan who has to be the tallest, bear of a man Oliver’s ever seen. The man is giant and wide and Dan’s handshake is so tight it almost hurts but Oliver thinks he keeps his wince mostly to himself.

“Okay. Now come on, you,” Margaret says and wraps and arm around Oliver’s shoulders. “You have to meet everyone.”

“No. Aunt Margaret.” Connor trails after the pair of them as she steers Oliver down the hall. “I wanted to introduce him to Mom and Dad first.”

Margaret just waves Connor off again. “He can met them when he meets everyone else.”

Over Margaret’s shoulder, Oliver shoots Connor a semi-panicked look and Connor just gives a half-shrug and mouths “Sorry” just as they round the corner.

There are a sea of people. At least half a dozen children are running about and everywhere else are just people. Standing, sitting, kneeling on the floor, people everywhere. The collected Walsh clan are simply piled one on top of the other and Oliver’s eyes widen as every gaze in the room turns to him.

“Everybody!” Margaret shouts to be heard over the din of conversation and Christmas music. “This is Oliver!”

And suddenly, Oliver’s in the middle of it. With Margaret’s grip still tight around his shoulders, Oliver’s introduced to practically everyone at once. There are cousins and aunts and nieces and nephews and family friends and neighbors and uncles. It’s a mess of names and faces and handshakes and hugs. Oliver’s cheeks hurt from smiling so much and he’s getting a little anxious being the center of so much attention. Eventually he feels Connor’s hand slip into his and Oliver relaxes just a bit at the familiar touch.

Extracting Oliver from Margaret’s grip takes some doing but Connor is able to pull him away after a bit and tug him down the hall.

“How big is your family?” Oliver whispers. He’d been mislead as to just how sprawling Connor’s extended family was.

“Big” is all Connor supplies before stopping abruptly. “Okay. You pick. Mom or Dad?”

Oliver debates for half a second before answering. “Dad.”

Connor nods and leads them to the den. There Connor’s father is lounging with a scattering of other uncles and cousins watching football.

“Dad,” Connor calls once the commercial break starts. Three men turn their heads but only one pops up with a big smile and ready hug.

“Connor!” Connor’s dad greets and pulls his son in for a fierce hug. “Looking good, my boy. Looking good.” Then he turns to Oliver and rests his arm on Connor’s shoulder. Tilting his head, he asks, “And who is this tall drink of water?”

Connor rolls his eyes a little. Apparently you are never to old to be teased by your parents. “Dad, this is Oliver.”

“Oliver?” Connor’s dad turns to his son. “Have I heard of an Oliver?”

“Yes,” Connor says, looking at the floor. God, this is going to be even more mortifying that he’d thought. “I’ve told you about him.”

“Oh, yeah! That’s right. This is the Oliver you keep going on about.” Connor’s dad turns his smile on Oliver and Oliver’s briefly struck by how much Connor takes after his father. “Nice to finally meet you, Oliver.”

Connor’s dad holds out his hand for a firm shake. “It’s nice to meet you too, Mr. Walsh.”

“Pfft. Don’t bother with that. Call me Patrick.”

“Thanks, Patrick.” Oliver smiles and Patrick takes his hand back to rest on his son’s shoulder again.

“And honestly. I’m not kidding. He goes on and on about you,” Patrick tells Oliver. “You should hear him on the phone. It’s all Oliver this and Oliver that. Just Oliver, Oliver, Oliver. It’s constant. All the time.”

Patrick shoots his son a teasing look and Connor pointedly looks down again. “It’s not all the time,” Connor grumbles.

“No. That’s right. It’s few and far between that we’re able to get you on the phone.” Patrick turns to Oliver again. “Tell me, Oliver. Does Connor return your phone calls? When you text him does he answer in complete sentences or is it all just ‘k’s?”

Oliver grins and opens his mouth to answer but Connor’s quicker with his “Dad!”

“What? I’m asking the man a simple question.” When his son just glares at him, Patrick changes gears. “Okay. Fine. So, Oliver, I hear you work in IT. How’s that going?”

“It’s going well,” Oliver answers diplomatically. “Can’t complain.”

“Good. Good. That’s good.” Patrick rubs a hand over his jaw. “Now, just to be clear. When you say ‘well’ do you mean ‘well’ like house in the suburbs, two cars, grandkids in t-ball. Or ‘well’ like beach house too, sports car and a boat, grandkids in horseback riding lessons?”

“Oh my god. Dad!” Connor shouts so loud two of his uncles turn around to shush him for interrupting the game. Connor just glares at them before turning back to his father. “You can’t just ask things like that?!?”

“What?” Patrick turns to his son. “What’s the big deal?”

“You can’t ask my boyfriend how much money he makes?” Connor hisses. He can’t believe he has to spell this out for his father. “It’s rude.”

“I asked Carl the same thing when Gemma brought him home.” Patrick doesn’t see how this is any different.

“And Gemma still speaks to you?” Connor challenges.

Patrick puzzles over that. He does vaguely remember having a similar argument with his daughter all those years ago but he can’t really remember the details so it’s obviously not important. “I just want to make sure my kids are going to be alright.”

Connor hangs his head in his hands. “Oh my god.”

“What?” Patrick really doesn’t see why this is a problem. “Connor, you are going to graduate with massive student loans and it could take a few years for your career to take off. You’ve been dating this boy going on two years now and I hear from your mother you two are living together.”

At that Patrick shoots Oliver A Look and Oliver feels like he’s been scolded. He doesn’t know if this is the right time to let Patrick know that Connor was actually the one who initiated their living together not the other way around.

“It just seems like this is getting serious,” Patrick continues explaining to his son. “I just want to make sure that everything is going to be okay. And that you aren’t going to have to hit me and your mother up for a loan.” Patrick laughs as his obvious joke but neither his son nor Oliver crack a smile. “You’ll understand when you have kids,” Patrick tells his son before looking back over at Oliver again. “Coincidentally, how do you feel about kids, Oliver?”

“Oh my god!” Connor’s head snaps up. “Don’t answer that,” he fires at Oliver before turning to his father. “We are leaving to go meet Mom. Who is normal and won’t ask inappropriate questions.”

With that, Connor tugs Oliver back out of the room. Oliver turns back to quickly shoot Patrick a “Nice to meet you” before Connor’s pulled them out into the hall.

Watching them go, Patrick can’t help but grin. He knows well enough that any question he could possible ask Oliver will look like child’s play compared to the third degree his wife will give their son’s boyfriend but sometimes parents need to let their children keep their delusions.

Out in the hall, Connor tugs Oliver up short flight of stairs to a small, dark landing. “I’m so sorry,” he whispers.

“It’s fine,” Oliver insists.

“It’s not fine.”

“Yes it is.” Oliver drops his hands to Connor’s hips and pulls Connor in a touch closer. “If you think about it, it was kind of sweet.”

“Or really insulting.” Connor adjusts and flattens Oliver’s tie.

“I’m going with sweet and choosing to not be insulted.”

Connor runs a thumb along Oliver’s jaw. “You are sweet.”

“I know.” Oliver says it with a shit-eating grin that Connor just has to kiss away.

“Okay,” Connor whispers, breaking the kiss. “Ready to go meet my mom.”

Oliver nods and Connor steps to go back down the stairs but Oliver tugs him back. “Wait a sec. What did your dad mean when he said we’re going on two years.”

Shit. Connor had hoped Oliver wouldn’t catch that.

When Connor’d been home last Christmas he’d told his sister (who’d in turn told his entire family) that he and Oliver were dating when, in reality, they’d been broken up. Then, when Gemma had pressed for more details, Connor’d stuck with the truth and said he and Oliver had started dating around the start of the school year in September but things had only recently gotten serious rather than admit to her that they’d really been apart for weeks. Then, a few weeks later, when he and Oliver had worked things out, Connor didn’t see the point in telling his family the truth.

So what if in the eyes of Connor’s entire family this was going to be Connor and Oliver’s second Christmas together when it is actually only their first? It wasn’t a bit deal in the grand scheme of things. Also, Connor’d figured there was no reason to tell Oliver of the embarrassing lie because 1) it would mortifying and 2) Oliver’d never find out anyway so what was the point.

And, since Oliver still doesn’t need to find out, Connor just dismisses the question with a “Dad just doesn’t always pay attention” and leads Oliver down the stairs and into the kitchen.

Sensing Oliver’s nerves creeping in again, Connor wraps an arm around Oliver’s waist as they walk into the bustling kitchen. His mother and collected aunts and older cousins are buzzing about the warm, happy room, putting the last minute touches on dishes and getting everything ready to put on the tables.

“Mom,” Connor calls out and waits for her head to pop up.

She smiles when she spots him and her smile goes even wider when she sees Oliver. “Oh!” Abandoning her task of whipping mashed potatoes, she hands her whisk off to a nearby uncle and rushes over with her arms spread wide. Connor expects she’s going to hug him but is beyond happy when she reaches for Oliver. Oliver bends down a little to let her pull him in close and she rocks them back-and-forth twice.

“You must be Oliver,” she says, pulling back a little but keeping her hands on his shoulders. Oliver simply nods and she tugs him back in for another hug. “It’s so good to meet you.”

“It’s good to meet you too, Mrs. Walsh.”

“Hey, now.” She lifts a finger to wag in Oliver’s face. “None of that. You call me Nancy. You hear me.”

Oliver nods once. “It’s nice to meet you, Nancy.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Oliver.”

Sensing the bustle around them, Nancy shushes, “Oh here, let’s get out of the way.”

The three of them are safely situated in a corner when Nancy turns to Oliver again. “So, Oliver, has my son introduced you to everyone?”

Oliver glances over at the rush of people coming in and out of the kitchen. It’s a mass of people he knows he’s been introduced to but Oliver couldn’t pick out a familiar face in the group if he had too. “He’s been trying,” Oliver told Nancy with a smile. “It’s a little overwhelming.”

Nancy chuckles. “There are a lot of us this year. Lots of cousins stayed in town.” She turned to her son. “It’s still such a shame he couldn’t come last year.”

Oliver puzzles at that. “Last year?” He turns expectantly to Connor but Connor’s just staring at his mother, eyes wide and back straight.

Holy shit.

“Yes.” Nancy goes on to explain, “I mean, I understand you staying home with your family. The holidays are so important. We just had a much smaller crowd last year. Aunt Joanne and them went out to California to see Beth’s family and Carol and Mike took their five to Disney. A few of the others spent dinner with their other sides. But this year, nearly everyone’s here.” Nancy turned back to her son. “Uncle Rob and his girls aren’t here but-”

While Nancy explains to her son who is and isn’t here, her son’s mind races for a way to explain away what his mother just said. He’d gotten away with just dismissing his father; Oliver would have no problem believing Connor’s dad wasn’t necessarily up to date on the details of their relationship. But Connor’s mom was a different story. Connor didn’t think he could just brush off what his mother’d said and Oliver would just accept it with no questions asked.

“So you see,” Nancy’s talking to Oliver again. “Last year was just a bit smaller so it might have been easier to put names with faces. But then again, this year you get to meet everyone in one swoop.”

Her smile is so wide that Oliver doesn’t want to see it dim but he can’t resist pointing out. “But Connor and I weren’t together last year.”

And, at that one simple sentence, Connor can feel the tide turning against him. Up until that moment, he’d had a chance. It was slim but there was a small possibility that he’d have been able to get out of this mess without owning up to his mortifying, pathetic lie. Now, he is screwed.

“Oh?” Nancy’s brown furrows. “But I thought Gemma said - Oh! Gemma!”

No, now he is screwed, Connor thinks as watches in horror as his mother calls his sister over. He wonders if he can just grab Oliver’s wrist and the pair of them can make a run for it.

“Yeah.” Gemma smiles in friendly greeting at Oliver. The pair of them have already met a few times on Skype and she’d already gotten her hug earlier so there was no need to go through it all again. “What’s up?”

“I thought you told me about Connor dating Oliver last Christmas,” Nancy says.

Now Gemma’s brow is the one furrowed. “I did.” She looks at Connor, “You said he stayed in Philly to be with his parents.”

“But Oliver just said they weren’t dating last Christmas,” Nancy says.

Then three pairs of eyes slowly turn to Connor.

“I…I…I…” Connor can’t think of anything to say. He’s choking on the NOTHING coming out of his mouth and his mind is just a wall of white noise as he looks at the three of them. Say something, he screams at himself. Say anything!

But before Connor can get a handle on how he’s going to spin this, it all clicks for Oliver. Connor can see it in the way the cheshire grin spreads slow and wide across Oliver’s face.

“I think the three of us should sit next to each other at dinner,” Oliver says to Nancy and Gemma. He gives Connor a look that is loving and teasing, all at once. “I think the three of us will have a lot to discuss.”

Connor watches, still mute, as the three of them head into the dining room.

He is so screwed.

**Author's Note:**

> [tumblr](http://ramblesandreblogs.tumblr.com)


End file.
